Corruptable
by universallyfictional23
Summary: Not your typical Slenderman story. There is only suspense and survival herein. Fem OC. Possible appearances from Ticci Toby, Masky, Hoodie, Jeff, and Kate.
1. Chapter 1

"This is stupid," the teenager stated, leaning against the wall by the front door. Her arms were tightly crossed over her chest. "Like, first-one-to-go-down-in-a-horror-movie-stupid."

The girl's parents gave her sympathetic smiles as they began to stack their bags and suitcases by the door.

"Oh, honey," Mrs. Hugh began, her elegant middle-aged features wearing a concerned, motherly expression. "Maybe Nori's right. I don't feel comfortable leaving her home like this."

"Meghan," the father began firmly, laying a comforting hand on his wife's arm. "Nori is eighteen. She's smart, knows how to handle guns and knives, and can drive." Wrapping an affectionate arm around his daughter and planting a kiss on her bronze hair, he beamed a confident smile. "She'll be just fine, won't you?"

" _Dad_ ," Nori sighed. "Of course I'll be fine, I just still think it's stupid for you guys to leave for a whole week!"

"Max! Maybe we should ask someone to come stay with her?" The mother exclaimed, her anxiety rising again.

"No!" Nori gave her input indignantly. "Stupid idea or not, I don't need a babysitter."

"I agree," Mr. Hugh nodded. "Look, she's got plenty of food, the house is secure, and Old Mister Connelly will look in on her midweek, right? She'll be fine!"

The girl groaned quietly.

"Would it be alright if he _didn't_ come over?" She asked.

"Nori? Why wouldn't you want Mr. Connelly to come check on you?" Her mother inquired.

"He can _call_ , or send me an _email_ or something," she allowed. "He just doesn't have to come into the house..."

"That's very rude of you, Nori. Mr. Connelly is a very nice old man and our only neighbor."

"And if he comes over, he'll just end up telling me one of his extremely creepy stories! That'll be the last thing I need when I'm going to be here _alone_."

"Then just tell him so," her father instructed her. "He may be a bit eccentric, but he'll understand." He spared a glance down at his wristwatch and stood agape for a moment, "Oh shoot. Honey, we've got to go if we're going to make our flight!" Turning to his daughter once again, he wrapped her in his arms and squeezed her tightly. "I love you, Nori-dory. Be good and stay smart while we're gone, alright?"

"Yes, daddy," she promised, giving her father a dear smile. "Don't worry about me. As long as I keep William by my side you know I'll be safe and sound," she laughed, referring to her pet machete.

Max Hugh smiled in return at his only daughter.

"I know you will be. You're strong."

The moment he stepped away from her, Meghan flew in to smother the girl in affection.

"Oh, Nori, promise that you'll stay safe alright?" The mother demanded. Before the teenager could even answer, she pressed on, "Don't go out after dark, keep your phone on and charged, and don't hesitate to call someone if you need anything, like more food, or medicine, or..."

"I get it mom," the girl laughed. "And I'll make sure that Mr. Connelly lets me out twice a day and puts plenty of food and water in my dishes."

"Oh, you know what I mean!" Mrs. Hugh said, exasperated. Squeezing her daughter again. "Oh! And don't forget to turn off all the lights before you go to bed and to close all the blinds after dark! Not to mention-"

"Meghan..." Her husband called her from the doorway, their bags in his hands.

"Alright, dear! I'm coming! I'm coming!" She began to pull away, then turned back to Nori for one more hug. "Oh, I'm going to miss you!"

Then they hurried out the door. Nori watched them from the window as their car lights turned on and they motored down the dirt road.

With a shuddery sigh, she pulled away from the window. She was now alone. The girl's only companions were now the seemingly limitless expanse of trees surrounding the house and the heavy silence that dared anything to break it.

It was the beginning of a very long, rather terrifying week for the young woman, one which she would not soon forget.


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take long for the restlessness to settle in. A few hours after her parents had left, the mild party that Nori-as a self-respecting teenager-felt obligated to throw for herself had died down, leaving her with nothing but a half-eaten bowl of chips and a messy structure of pillows and blankets in the living room.

Lazing in the entryway of her pillow and blanket fort, idly crunching on some chips, Nori felt uneasy and increasingly lonesome. It had only been four hours since her parents left and already she didn't know what to do with herself. The oddity of her situation had left her clueless as to how she should spend her time, which was odd in itself. Most teenagers would leap at the opportunity of being solely in charge of a large house for a week while their parents were gone. But Nori clearly was either not as opportunistic as most or merely didn't have the means to take advantage of her situation. Most likely, the latter given the house's secluded surroundings.

She didn't even have a single responsibility to attend to. Her parents had asked nothing of her before they left other than cleaning up any messes she might make, which-other than the fort-there were none.

She realized that this may have been the first time in her life that the young woman had actually missed having school work to complete.

Nori had graduated high-school before they had moved here into the old family home in the mountains the year previous. But because of family complications and financial difficulties, she had postponed going to college until their situation had stabilized.

Clambering slowly out of her fort, the girl slouched to the window and peered outside at the dreary grey-lit forest surrounding her. As a child, Nori had often visited this place with her family and had explored the woods around her. But it had never looked so bleak as it did now, the branches of the trees turned black by the soaking rain and the limbs and leaves were drooping heavily.

Gazing out upon the dismal expanse of forest beyond the window, Nori was reminded of her past anxieties concerning her surroundings. When she had been younger and shortly after they had moved here, she had been plagued by paranoia and the feeling of being watched. Being in the company of her perfectly content parents, however, she had been forced to push those worries aside and comfort herself in the fact that her parents didn't seem to sense anything wrong. She attributed her anxiety to the move and the stress the family had recently undergone. The fears had gone away over the course of a few months.

Now that she was alone in an empty house, however, they all came rushing back.

Nevertheless, she was determined not to allow herself to be spooked. With a sigh of resignation, she set herself to the task of cleaning up her fort and putting away her snack, pondering what she would do next as she did so.

Perhaps this week would be an excellent opportunity to catch up on some reading.

So, that was what she did... For the next two days. Barring meals, sleeping, and toilet breaks, she spent her days and evenings curled up on the basement couch, pouring through novel after novel. So far, she had completed two and was deep into third.

Much to her surprise, she found that she was actually enjoying herself. Occasionally, she would fix a cup of camomile or echinacea tea for herself and relish in leisurely sipping it while fingering through her book. After a while, she found herself thinking that this vacation was exactly what she had been needing. All of her fears were gone.

One night, however, her surroundings took a sinister and eerie turn. As she lounged on the basement couch enjoying her novel, she contently blocked out the rest of the world with the music filling her ears as she listened to her iPod. The silence had quickly become too dense for her to remain at peace, so she had bought several new albums of music and was now enjoying them thoroughly. Because of this, however, she did not hear the distant rumbling thunder growing steadily nearer, nor did she hear the rain tapping against the sliding glass door across the room from her. The brittle-barked pines outside leaned with the wind, creaking and moaning as if their old limbs pained them, but that too went unheard.

The blackout got her attention, however. With a snap, every light in the house fell dark and, startled, Nori pulled out her earbuds and listened. Her heart beat heavily inside her chest. Upon hearing the sound of the wild storm outside, the girl shrank. Storms were not usually worrisome to her, but now that she was alone, in the dark, at the mercy of the elements, she suddenly felt quite small.

There was a flash of white light and a resounding crash of rolling thunder shook the house. She screamed and jumped to her feet, the novel falling forgotten to the floor. She reacted not to mother nature's sudden display of power, however, but at what the brief light illuminated just beyond the glass of the sliding door. On the other side of the thin sheet of glass, standing on the stone patio had been an impossibly tall figure. Though it could have been a trick of the lightning, it had appeared to be looming so tall that it had to bend over slightly to peer in at her. She hadn't been able to make out any features in the face, but she had caught a glimpse of a gaunt, pale, spidery hand resting against the glass.

A frigid tingle of horror ran up her spine as she came to the realization that whatever-or whomever- it was had been standing there for God knows how long, watching her read. Her eyes prickled with unbidden tears as terror froze her to her spot, staring at the now pitch black glass.

Another explosion of light and sound came a moment later. This time, she saw nothing as the stormy world outside was illuminated. There was no figure. They were gone. Nevertheless, Nori, dashed upstairs and locked herself in her parents room, closing the blinds to the window as she did so. Then, though she was a nearly full-grown woman, she held her machete close and crawled under the queen-sized bed. Needless to say, she kept vigilant that night and didn't sleep a wink. Just her in the dark, thunder crashing down around her, her knife, and her pounding heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Nori awoke the next morning coughing from the dust under her parents' bed and her arm tingling from her falling asleep on top of it the night before. Army-crawling her way out from her hiding place, she massaged her arm painfully, blinking in the morning light. She wondered whether she had merely imagined the whole thing last night or not, but she remembered the terror. That had been real enough.

Gripping her machete close, she scooted her way downstairs. She peeked around corners and tread as quietly as she could manage. When she felt somewhat secure in the fact that no one was in the house with her, she mustered the courage to call out.

"Hello?"

After several more minutes of silence, she heaved a sigh of relief and made her way over to the kitchen and slopped some cereal and milk into a bowl. Her machete lay on the countertop beside her and her fingers still twitched, ready to grab it should she hear a sound other than the sound of her eating.

It was too quiet. Although she would've flown out of her skin had she heard anything else, the oppressive silence was a constant reminder of how isolated she was, how alone. She hated it. Also, her terrifying experience the night before had left her anxious and jumpy. She desperately needed the company of another human being, the sound of someone else's voice but her own.

She whimpered softly into her soggy cereal. There was only one other human being on this side of the mountain: creepy old Mr. Connelly. He was her only hope for company while her parents were gone.

In all fairness, Nori knew she didn't give the old man enough credit. She was certain that he was a nice enough man. The fact that he was a paranoid conspiracy-theorist living alone in the mountains didn't exactly help his case however, and neither did the horrible stories he told whenever he came over for dinner about the monsters living in the woods.

Sufficed to say, she would've ordinarily never reached out to him. But she was beginning to have a nervous breakdown and he was the only one who could possibly come to her aid. She bit her lip. Perhaps the events of last night sanctioned giving him a call.

Rinsing her bowl in the sink, she cleaned up her mess and made her way over to the phone in the den, the very same den in which she had been terrified out of her mind last night. She flashed a nervous glance towards the sliding glass door. There was not a soul to be seen. She heaved a sigh.

Mr. Connelly's number was written on a sticky note beside the phone; her parents really had thought of everything. Lifting the landline to her ear, she negotiated with a tangle in the spirally cord. It was an old landline with a hefty black handset. It reminded her of a red toy phone she used to play with as a child. It's cool plastic ear and mouthpiece was smooth against her skin.

She had just began to study the numbers on the sticky note, when she realized that the phone was strangely silent; there was no telltale hum coming from the earpiece. She selected the first few numbers on the rotor experimentally, but with no results.

Her anxiety began to rise again as she repeatedly clipped the phone jack in an attempt to hear a dial tone. Still, she heard nothing. It was then that she realized...

"The power's out," she whispered.

The storm last night must have been more intense than she thought. She suspected some trees must've fallen on the power lines.

"Oh shit," she whimpered.

There were no cell phones or laptops in the house. Such things weren't practical in a place that didn't have a signal. Any internet access her house got came straight from the power lines as well. She was virtually cut off from communicating with anyone beyond the walls of the house. What she would've given for a trained carrier pigeon...

She now had no way of telling Mr. Connelly that she was coming or that he should be expecting her.

Turning back to face the nefarious glass door, she bit her lip. And then she stared. With shaking knees, she toed closer. The morning light shining on the glass illuminated a handprint, impossibly long and spidery-fingered. It was at her eye level and was on the out side of the door. She quaked at the sight.

Nori swallowed hard and backed away. It was real, whatever had been outside last night was real and it had been watching her. She felt sick.

She knew now that she had two options: she could barricade her home and make it a defensible fortress or she could chance a trip through the woods to Mr. Connelly's house by herself.

For the first time in her life, Nori felt true mortal fear. She had no idea what this thing or person was or what their intent towards her was, but she could sense that she could either do nothing, or very possibly end up dead. And she knew she couldn't stay in the house alone much longer and retain her sanity.

She was going to make the trip to Mr. Connelly's before dark.

"How many knives do I own again?"


End file.
